No- it's not a Wattle.

Saturday morning saw me out in the Hard Hills east of St Arnaud to try and get a photo or two of the Bristly Greenhood that had spiked up in the Club's big enclosure on L Bray's Rd.

Coming round the corner past the transfer station I was pulled up by the sight of what I first thought was a large wattle in full bloom.

Aha" I thought- a new species although I couldn't place this plant at all in the local wattle list.

The bush was full of bees having a grand time and after taking as close a look as I dared, realised that this was a melaleuca, in fact it was Mallee Broombush Melaleuca uncinata in full fig.

There were only 4 or 5 bushes on the roadside and on reflection I realised that I had rarely seen this species in the Hard Hills although it is on the list for the area.

Has anyone else seen this species in the Hard Hills other than just east of the transfer station?

This is a valuable plant for insects in particular and is a beautiful sight at this time of year.

Along with its cousin, Totem Poles Melalueuca decussata, it provides food for a number of insects, cover for small birds and would be a good addition to any windbreak planting or just in the garden as is decussata.

Totem Pole Flowers

After this small interruption, I went on to our site to find one Bristly Greenhood completely dessicated and the other, vanished!

This is P. setifera in slightly better times 9 years ago.

It is very similar to P despectans(Lowly Greenhood) but without the absurdly long sepal tips.

The trip was worthwhile, as most bush trips are, even if you don't find what you went out for!

It's not over yet!

The hot dry spell we have just had has put paid to many of the our wildflowers, espcually the more showy plants. Heading east out of town on Monday to start the Mid-Spring Bird Surveys, the much improved L. Bray's Rd took me through the Hard Hills to the eponymous Nature Conservation Reserve(NCR) where the Club has two fenced enclosures. The oldest one, established in 1984 to protect the vulnerable Inland Pomaderris (Pomaderris paniculosa ssp. paniculosa) and Daddy Longlegs Orchid(Caladenia filamentosa) demonstrates the importance of controling grazing and browing animals. Outside the enclosure, there is little but mature Blue Mallee (Eucalyptus polybractea) whilst inside the fence, the entire shrub and ground layer of plants is present and flourishing. A few years ago, a count by Club members returned more than 400 plants of C. filamentosa! The newer enclosure was established to protect the newly named Hard Hills Spider orchid (Caladenia ampla) as well as Bristly Greenhood and Inland Pomaderris. However, most of these plants have finished flowering for the year but there is still much to interest keen photographers and naturalists. After climbing through the fence,a scramble through the regenerating Blue Mallee showed big beautiful plants of Scarlet Mintbush- Prostanthera aspalathoides, in every shade of red and orange. These plants despite their turpentiny smell seem attractive to browsing animals and are often browsed low to the ground.

withered rosettes of Bristly Greenhood with spikes soon to flower:

tall stems of Milkmaids(Burchardia umbellata),

drooping bee-infested heads of the mauve Totem Poles(Melaleuca decussata)

still flowering,the coconut-ice flowers of Grevillea alpina- Cat's Claw Grevillea... and meat an

the last flowers of the heath- myrtle,Micromyrtus ciliatus, turning red now:

seed capsules forming on the Hopbushes (Dodonea sp) with attendant beetles

And as a treat the delicate flowers of a Wallaby Grass (Rhytidosperma sp)

So get your boots on, and get out in the bush- the sights are no less impressive than the big Spring wildflower display, just rather more subtle.

Wax Garden is looking Beautiful

Despite the lack of rain for the last 7 weeks, the Wax Garden is looking beautiful. A walk with members from Avon Plains Banyena Landcare Group on Sunday 13th October started with disappointment at the front gate where the vegetation could only be described as Macbeth's "blasted heath"! Taking the Mallee Track though, we were soon amazed and thrilled at the diversity of the flowering shrubs and herbs. Blue Dampiera (D.dysantha)

was threading its way everwhere through the flowering Goldfields Grevilleas ( G. dryophylla),

Silky Tea-tree(Leptospermum mysrsinoides),

soon-to flower Daphne Heath (Brachyloma daphnoides),

Common Fringe-myrtle(Calytrix tetragona)

and fading Rosy Baeckea,

Many other plants were flowering- Twining Fringe-lilies (Thysanotus patersonii)

various peas and daisies and then we came to the patches of the yellow Sun-orchids- Rabbit's Ears. Like rabbits too they were everywhere and flourishing.

Round the corner and heading for the outside track we found, flowering, several plants of the Fairy or Bendigo Waxflower (Philotheca verrucosus), regenerating now since the new fence was installed 2years ago

Other plants present in good numbers were Yam Daisy (Microseris lanceolata) attracting early hoverflies

Twiggy Guinea -flower(Hibbertia exutiaces) with its outstanding honey scent

the tall stately spires of the Cypress Daisy-bush (Olearia teretifolia)

emerging spikes of the Tall Chocolate Lily(Arthropodium strictum)

the shy, low growing herb White Marianth (Rytidospermum procumbens) re-emerging since the fence went up

and the hot magenta flowers of Pink Bells(Tetratheca ciliata)

Each section of the 3 tracks has something different to offer and flowering plants and shrubs are seen from August through to the show of Tall Lobelias, Trigger-plants and native grasses in December. The patch supports the Box-Ironbark eucalypt species Red Box, Yellow Gum, Grey Box, Red Ironbark and Red Stringybark as well as the mallee species Blue Mallee. The rich and diverse understorey represents the best of both ecological vegetation types. The new grazing control fence has proved its worth and will offer protection to this unusual 6.84 ha patch of bush into the future.